Harkin, Braley call for federal investment in infrastructure

CEDAR RAPIDS – A pair of Iowa Democratic congressmen called for more federal investment to stimulate the sluggish economy and put Iowans to work.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which the congressmen said created 5,000 jobs in Iowa, “needs a booster shot,” Sen. Tom Harkin said Aug. 22 before he and Rep. Bruce Braley led a roundtable discussion on how to rebuild the middle class.

They called for revitalizing the manufacturing sector and reforming federal taxes so they are fairer for low- and middle-class earners, tax wealth and encourage investment in new technology that will create jobs.

“Every single major deficit reduction effort in the last 40 years, whether it was by a Democratic or Republican president, included not just spending cuts, but revenue enhancements,” Braley said.

“Even Ronald Reagan had revenue enhancements,” added Harkin.

During the roundtable discussion, the congressmen heard from area residents who encouraged them to maintain or increase assistance for college students and workers who are seeking training to improve their skills and job prospects.

“Give us the skills to make it on our own,” said Lindie Hunter of Anamosa. A certified pharmacy tech, the mother of four said she is able to study at Kirkwood Community College to become a registered nurse because of food assistance, school supplies, Christmas gifts, and child care she receives through Hawkeye Area Community Action Program.

Hunter recommended that people like her should not lose all of their assistance as soon as they get a job. A transition period giving them time to get on their feet would increase the likelihood of success, she said.

“Once we get a job, instead of losing the assistance from day one, why not a buffer for a couple of months, then start to pay it back?” Hunter said. It would help people re-entering the workforce establish a savings plan “so they are less likely to come back to assistance.”

For Kirkwood, the challenge is finding the resources to help Hunter and others like her gain the skills they need to join the workforce.

The college was disappointed when Pell grants for summer classes were cut, Ovel said, noting that Hunter's registered nursing program is an 18-month program that runs through the summer.

He also pointed out that Iowa population has been relatively flat for decades, K-12 enrollment is falling and a large number of Baby Boomers are headed into retirement. The key to meeting future workforce needs is providing additional training for low-skilled workers already in the workforce as well as those displaced by cuts in traditional manufacturing, Ovel said.

David Nelson, a Wartburg College junior from Rochester, Minn., warned that the cost of college education – the average debt load for Wartburg graduates is $30,000, he said – and the job market are causing some students to have second thoughts about investing in a college degree.

“The problem has become that students see the price tag and don't know if they can handle it,” Nelson said.

A variety of other ideas were proposed by participants including re-establishing apprenticeships as a way to train the next generation of workers.

“You can't beat it,” Matthew Fisher of Cedar Rapids IBEW Local 204, said about apprenticeships programs. In many trades and crafts, he said, the demand outstrips the number of applicants as well as the capacity of trade schools.

To drive home the importance of a world-class workforce, Dennis Jordan of Priority One, an economic development agency, said the first question he's asked when trying to recruit companies to Cedar Rapids is about the workforce.

But which comes first, Harkin wondered, “the workforce or the jobs?”

There won't be job creation as long as “95 percent of things we buy are made elsewhere,” said Jerry Wedel of Marion, a member of the Machinists union at Amana. He called for renegotiating trade agreements to maintain trade balance.

NAFTA was promoted as a way to stimulate job creation here and create markets for U.S.-made goods in Mexico, he said, “but that's not what happened. Our jobs went south.”